DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.73714#0066
66 THE WORKS OF
even thought so, he would not have written
falsehoods upon that which he had a thousand
times seen with his own eyes, as he does speaking
of the pictures of Raphael in the Vatican *.
* The life of Correggio composed by Mengs, as I have
published it, has been printed at Finale in 1781, by a certain
Carlo Giuseppe Ratti, who pretending not to know the works of
Mengs, gives himself as the author of this life; and to give a
better appearance to it, he inserts in this publication a letter which
he says was written to him by Mengs in 1774, from Madrid, in
which he makes that gentleman say, that he wishes him to colle&,
and publish speedily, the anecdotes of the life and works of C'or-
reggi°* Therefore he has published this life, as if it had never
been either written or printed by Mengs, although it is truly the
very same of Mengs. Ratti has however arranged it in his own
manner, by changing words and phrases wherever he treats of the
arts, and has believed he has produced a matter-piece by embroidering
it with very precious erudition, as for example: Correggio is a city
equal to every illujirious city in Lombardy, and has produced great men
os every denomination even unto Cardinals ; and therefore he, Ratti,
produces epitaphs, testimonials, titles, employments, tombs, dates,
chronologies, and many other anecdotes, all very useful to painting
and painters. He recounts at last all the scholars of Correggio,
and he recounts not a few of them, but makes them all clever?
very clever fellows; and then he passes to his disciples, amonglb
whom he makes Lanfranco his arch-disciple, and more than arch-
disciple Ferrari, probably because he was a Genoese ; and terminates
finally with Mengs, whom he pretends to be the faithful imitator of
Correggio, without specifying in what he sollowed him.
Since then this Ratti is wild in publishing, it is necessary to pub-
lish him such as he really is. He is a lame Genoese with mouth
awry, and with the trifling talents of imitating the motions and
absurdities of people. With this desirable stock he ssattered the
taste of Mengs, who, notwithstanding the seriousness os his charac-
ter, was pleated to divert himself with cheersul and facetious peo-
ple, even in a style low and burlesque. For that reason, in his
hours of repose he diverted himself frequently with Ratti; and he
became so attached to him that he fixed him in his house, providing
him with every thing; and to be of some service to him he was
willing to make a painter os him, designing for him various Sketches
in clare obseure, for a picture of the Nativity of Christ, which he
was engaged to do sor the church of the merchants os Barcelona.
This painter, who was no painter, sele&ed the most beautisul of
these Sketches about six palms in height (it is a capital work that
even thought so, he would not have written
falsehoods upon that which he had a thousand
times seen with his own eyes, as he does speaking
of the pictures of Raphael in the Vatican *.
* The life of Correggio composed by Mengs, as I have
published it, has been printed at Finale in 1781, by a certain
Carlo Giuseppe Ratti, who pretending not to know the works of
Mengs, gives himself as the author of this life; and to give a
better appearance to it, he inserts in this publication a letter which
he says was written to him by Mengs in 1774, from Madrid, in
which he makes that gentleman say, that he wishes him to colle&,
and publish speedily, the anecdotes of the life and works of C'or-
reggi°* Therefore he has published this life, as if it had never
been either written or printed by Mengs, although it is truly the
very same of Mengs. Ratti has however arranged it in his own
manner, by changing words and phrases wherever he treats of the
arts, and has believed he has produced a matter-piece by embroidering
it with very precious erudition, as for example: Correggio is a city
equal to every illujirious city in Lombardy, and has produced great men
os every denomination even unto Cardinals ; and therefore he, Ratti,
produces epitaphs, testimonials, titles, employments, tombs, dates,
chronologies, and many other anecdotes, all very useful to painting
and painters. He recounts at last all the scholars of Correggio,
and he recounts not a few of them, but makes them all clever?
very clever fellows; and then he passes to his disciples, amonglb
whom he makes Lanfranco his arch-disciple, and more than arch-
disciple Ferrari, probably because he was a Genoese ; and terminates
finally with Mengs, whom he pretends to be the faithful imitator of
Correggio, without specifying in what he sollowed him.
Since then this Ratti is wild in publishing, it is necessary to pub-
lish him such as he really is. He is a lame Genoese with mouth
awry, and with the trifling talents of imitating the motions and
absurdities of people. With this desirable stock he ssattered the
taste of Mengs, who, notwithstanding the seriousness os his charac-
ter, was pleated to divert himself with cheersul and facetious peo-
ple, even in a style low and burlesque. For that reason, in his
hours of repose he diverted himself frequently with Ratti; and he
became so attached to him that he fixed him in his house, providing
him with every thing; and to be of some service to him he was
willing to make a painter os him, designing for him various Sketches
in clare obseure, for a picture of the Nativity of Christ, which he
was engaged to do sor the church of the merchants os Barcelona.
This painter, who was no painter, sele&ed the most beautisul of
these Sketches about six palms in height (it is a capital work that